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Self Realization Fellowship
Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) is a worldwide religious organization founded in 1920 by Paramahansa Yogananda, the Indian guru who authored ''Autobiography of a Yogi''. Before moving to the United States, Yogananda began his spiritual work in India in 1917 and named the organization Yogoda Satsanga Society of India (YSS). He moved to the Western world, West in 1920 and in 1925 established SRF's headquarters at Mount Washington, Los Angeles, California. Before his return visit to India in 1935, he legally incorporated SRF in the United States, designating it as the only organization to carry on his work—to care for and disseminate his teachings. Yogananda's teachings include meditation techniques intended to promote awareness of God and one's soul. SRF conveys these techniques through a home-study course, and they publish Yogananda's books and lectures. SRF also coordinates the Worldwide Prayer Circle, which prays for world peace and those in need. Leadership Paramahansa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Religious Organization
Religious activities generally need some infrastructure to be conducted. For this reason, there generally exist religion-supporting organizations, which are some form of organization that manages: * the upkeep of places of worship, such as mosques, churches, temples, synagogues, chapels and other buildings or meeting places. * the payment of salaries to religious leaders, such as Roman Catholic priests, Hindu priests, Protestant ministers, imams and rabbis. In addition, such organizations usually have other responsibilities, such as the formation, nomination or appointment of religious leaders, the establishment of a corpus of doctrine, the disciplining of leaders and followers with respect to religious law, and the determination of qualification for membership. Legal status Public organizations Some countries run the activities of one or more religions as part of their government, or as external organizations closely supported by the government. See state religion. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of the longest-running newspapers in the United States, the ''Times'' serves as one of the country's Newspaper of record, newspapers of record. , ''The New York Times'' had 9.13 million total and 8.83 million online subscribers, both by significant margins the List of newspapers in the United States, highest numbers for any newspaper in the United States; the total also included 296,330 print subscribers, making the ''Times'' the second-largest newspaper by print circulation in the United States, following ''The Wall Street Journal'', also based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' is published by the New York Times Company; since 1896, the company has been chaired by the Ochs-Sulzberger family, whose current chairman and the paper's publ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sannyas
''Sannyasa'' (), sometimes spelled ''sanyasa'', is the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as '' ashramas'', the first three being ''brahmacharya'' (celibate student), ''grihastha'' (householder) and '' vanaprastha'' (forest dweller, retired). ''Sannyasa'' is traditionally conceptualized for men or women in the last years of their life, but young ''brahmachari''s have the choice to skip the householder and retirement stages, renounce worldly and materialistic pursuits and dedicate their lives to spiritual pursuits. ''Sannyasa'', a form of asceticism marked by renunciation of material desires and prejudices, is characterized by a state of disinterest in and detachment from material life, with the purpose of spending one's life in peaceful, spiritual pursuits. An individual in Sanyasa is known as a ''sannyasi'' (male) or ''sannyasini'' (female) in Hinduism. Sannyasa shares similarities with the Sadhu and Sadhvi traditions of Jain monasticism, and the s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brahmacharya
''Brahmacharya'' (; Sanskrit: Devanagari: ब्रह्मचर्य) is the concept within Indian religions that literally means "conduct consistent with Brahman" or "on the path of Brahman". Brahmacharya, a discipline of controlling the senses, is seen as a way to liberation. Though sexual restraint is a part of brahmacharya, brahmacharya encompasses all striving toward a passionless state. In one context, ''brahmacharya'' is the first of four '' ashrama'' (age-based stages) of a human life. The ''brahmacharya'' (bachelor student) stage of life – from childhood up to twenty-five years of age – was focused on education and included the practice of celibacy. In this context, it connotes chastity during the student stage of life for the purposes of learning from a ''guru'' (teacher), and during later stages of life for the purposes of attaining spiritual liberation or moksha. In the Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist monastic traditions, ''brahmacharya'' implies, among othe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Novitiate
The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether they are called to vowed religious life. It often includes times of intense study, prayer, living in community, studying the vowed life, deepening one's relationship with God, and deepening one's self-awareness. In the Catholic Church, the canonical time of the novitiate is one year; in case of additional length, it must not be extended over two years. CIC, canon 648 In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the novitiate is officially set at three years before one may be tonsured a monk or nun, though this requirement may be waived. The novitiate is in any case a time both for the novice to get to know the community and the community to get to know the novice. The novice should aspire to deepening their relationship to God and discovering the comm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Postulancy
A postulant (from , "to ask") was originally one who makes a request or demand; hence, a candidate. The use of the term is now generally restricted to those asking for admission into a Christian monastery or a religious order for the period preceding their admission into the novitiate. The term is most commonly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, and the Anglican Communion (which includes the Episcopal Church) to designate those who are seeking ordination to the diaconate or priesthood. In this respect, postulancy is generally considered the first formal step leading to candidacy (for ordination) and ordination. The Eastern Orthodox Church uses this term less frequently. Purpose, duration and formation Nuns at a procession in 1915. The postulants in their garbs are walking in front of the professed nuns. The length of time that a prospective candidate remains a postulant may vary depending on the institution or the postulant's situation. Among active religious in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Recreation
Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for happiness, enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure and are considered to be "fun". Etymology The term ''recreation'' appears to have been used in English first in the late 14th century, first in the sense of "refreshment or curing of a sick person", and derived turn from Latin (''re'': "again", ''creare'': "to create, bring forth, beget"). Prerequisites to leisure People spend their time on activities of daily living, Employment, work, sleep, social duties and leisure, the latter time being free from prior commitments to physiologic or social needs, a prerequisite of recreation. Leisure has increased with increased longevity and, for many, with decreased hours spent for physical and economic survival, yet others argue that time pressure has increased for modern people, as the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Introspection
Introspection is the examination of one's own conscious thoughts and feelings. In psychology, the process of introspection relies on the observation of one's mental state, while in a spiritual context it may refer to the examination of one's soul. Introspection is closely related to human self-reflection and self-discovery and is contrasted with external observation. It generally provides a privileged access to one's own mental states, not mediated by other sources of knowledge, so that individual experience of the mind is unique. Introspection can determine any number of mental states including: sensory, bodily, cognitive, emotional and so forth. Introspection has been a subject of philosophical discussion for thousands of years. The philosopher Plato asked, "...why should we not calmly and patiently review our own thoughts, and thoroughly examine and see what these appearances in us really are?" While introspection is applicable to many facets of philosophical thought it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Renunciation
Renunciation (or renouncing) is the act of rejecting something, particularly something that the renunciant has previously enjoyed or endorsed. In religion, renunciation often indicates an abandonment of pursuit of material comforts, in the interests of achieving Enlightenment, Liberation, or Kevala Jnana, for example as practiced in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism respectively. In Hinduism, the renounced order of life is ; in Buddhism, the Pali word for "renunciation" is , conveying more specifically "giving up the world and leading a holy life" or "freedom from lust, craving and desires". (See also ''sangha'', ''bhikkhu'', '' bhikkhuni'', and ''śramaṇa''.) In Christianity, some denominations have a tradition of renunciation of the Devil. Renunciation of citizenship is the formal process by which a person voluntarily relinquishes the status of citizen of a specific country. A person can also renounce property, as when a person submits a disclaimer of interest in propert ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monasticism
Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christianity, Christian churches, especially in the Catholicism, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox and Anglican traditions as well as in other faiths such as Buddhist monasticism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jain monasticism, Jainism. In other religions, monasticism is generally criticized and not practiced, as in Islam and Zoroastrianism, or plays a marginal role, as in modern Nazirite, Judaism. Many monastics live in abbeys, convents, monastery, monasteries, or priories to separate themselves from the secular world, unless they are in mendicant or missionary orders. Buddhism The Sangha or community of ordained Buddhist bhikkhus (Pali ''bhikkhu'', like Sanskrit ''bhikṣu'', means 'mendicant; one who lives by dāna, alms'), and orig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mrinalini Mata
Mrinalini Mata (born Merna Loy Brown, May 8, 1931 – August 3, 2017) was the fourth president of Self-Realization Fellowship / Yogoda Satsanga Society of India (SRF/YSS), the only church founded by Paramahansa Yogananda to care for and disseminate his teachings. Biography She was born in Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ..., USA. Mrinalini Mata's parents were Vera and William Wesley Brown. She spent most of her youth in Southern California. From an early age, she showed an interest in religion, regularly attending church with her family. She was drawn to the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda at the age of fourteen, after she heard him speak at the Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) Temple in San Diego, California, which her sister and mother had b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Linda Johnsen
Linda Johnsen (born 1954 in Chicago) is an author on yoga and other aspects of Hinduism. She earned a master's degree in Eastern Studies and did post-graduate work in Comparative Religions at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. In addition, she spent decades studying Eastern traditions with Shakta and Shaivite yogis in India and North America. Bibliography Johnsen's essays have appeared in numerous magazines, including Yoga International,Yoga Journal ''Yoga Journal'' is a website and digital journal, formerly a print magazine, on yoga as exercise founded in California in 1975 with the goal of combining the essence of traditional yoga with scientific understanding. It has produced live events ..., Yoga Plus, and Mountain Astrologer as well as in many anthologies. Her books include: *''Daughters of the Goddess: The Women Saints of India'' (1994) *''The Living Goddess'' (1999) *''Meditation is Boring? Putting Life in Your Spiritual Practice'' (2000) *''The Complete Id ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
